School evacuated after gas pipe cut

AFTER a gas leak evacuated Sandy Beach Public School yesterday, the irony was not lost on acting principal, Peter Miles.

Workmen had been digging a trench near the classrooms to put a new fire hydrant system into the new school buildings and had mistakenly cut through a gas line about 10.50am.

The workers immediately contacted the principal who assessed the situation and started to evacuate the classrooms.

Within 15 minutes the gas had been turned off at the mains and there was no immediate danger to the students.

The evacuated students sat in an undercover area and watched on as Woolgoolga Fire Brigade, Sandy Beach Rural Fire Service, Hazmat and Police arrived at the scene. The children were then moved down to a bottom oval well away from the emergency services and the workmen.